This time of year in Ireland (August) is referred to by many as “the silly season”. Courts, legal offices and many other public services close for holidays, children get bored having been on holidays for 6 weeks already, people flock to last minute sun holiday destinations as they realise that, yet again, it is going…
Part of my June was spent preparing for and being involved in a peer mediation initiative in Singapore called Peacemakers. This project was first run in 2010 and had as its purpose the goal of bringing the ideas of mediation and collaborative problem solving to young people. This initiative saw students (aged between 13 to…
Part of my misspent youth was spent on immersing myself in reading about, taking trainings in and practicing Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). Over the years, NLP has affected my thinking about and approach to my training and practice of mediation. Some readers may not be familiar with NLP. I will provide a, necessarily, brief background here…
I have in previous posts referred to the distinction between direct and indirect forms of communication. Mediators will certainly have encountered these forms of communication before. Without seeking to offer a comprehensive or technical definition of what direct and indirect communication is, I would like to share some thoughts on this topic. First, it is…
It is often said that listening is one of a mediator’s core skills. At the same time the parties’ ability to listen to each other is equally important. Where parties’ communication has broken down to such an extent that they are unable to really hear what each other is saying, mediators can step in and…
For students of South-East Asian political struggles (come on, you know you are out there!) last month marked an important landmark. The Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro National Liberation Front signed an historic peace agreement intended to bring an end to 25 years of violent conflict. Of course, this is…
Well, 143,000 if you believe Mr. Google – but only one could have posted this must view for all mediators and mediation advocates. See this world class mediator in action at; http://billwoodmediation.com/video (and be sure to watch videos 2 & 3) P.S Bill if you need help here is one of the world’s only pet mediators,…
We were pleased to see the recent launch of the Commercial Mediation Group covered by the Editor’s blogpost last month. So why set up the Group, what are we doing and where is this headed? As for the thinking behind the initiative, the Editor hit the nail on the head. For many years the ‘mediation…
It is the end of semester at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore and I have just wrapped up the Mediation Workshop that I teach every year. This workshop is intended to equip senior law students with foundational skills of mediation and mediation advocacy through active learning activities like role-plays and reviews. One…
I was recently given an extraordinary birthday present: a day at the Nick Nairn Cook School (www.nicknairncookschool.com). Nick Nairn is one of Scotland’s most famous celebrity chefs, known for his respect for traditional Scottish fare, and as something of a foody I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday. I wasn’t disappointed….
